Tag: school readiness

Celebrating Easter in 2020 is not quite what we’re used to, is it? While Easter is usually about gathering with our families and friends, this year we must all stay positive and stay home. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy Easter!

Just because we can’t physically be together with our loved ones, we can still use technology to share this special time of year. From video calls from your smartphone, to Zoom and Skype on the computer, or just a humble chat on the phone, connecting with family and friends in a meaningful way is still achievable.

Whether you’re celebrating Easter this week, or celebrating Orthodox Easter next week, we wish you a very happy celebration! Keep your Easter traditions alive as best you can and take the time to be grateful for all the wonderful things and people in our lives.

If you have children at home or in centres and need some inspiration to make Easter special, even during times of isolating, take a look at our ideas in this article.

Stay safe and healthy, keep the faith and have an enjoyable Easter!

We are all dealing with a lot at the moment. Between work stress, health concerns, financial pressure, managing children at home and mental health, it is fair enough if Easter hasn’t been at the top of anyone’s list. Even finding toilet paper and pasta has been stressful! But of course, children love Easter – so to make life a little easier, we’ve compiled some practical ideas to help you celebrate Easter in isolation.

Make Easter baskets

Easter baskets to collect the treats left by the bunny are fun and often very simple to make. If you want to make it super simple, put out an old sheet, pop out the paints, stickers and other decorative items and give children a brown paper gift bag or an old gift bag. They will love spending time decorating their very own bag, especially knowing it is going to be used to gather tasty treats in days to follow! Or how about this option made from an egg carton – recycling and perfect for Easter eggs!

Classic egg hunt

Put those Easter baskets to good use – plus Easter would not be complete without the traditional hunt for chocolate! The Easter Bunny will still visit after all! Hiding chocolate eggs around your home and/or your backyard is a simple way to keep the magic of Easter alive in your home during this unusual Easter in isolation. If you can’t get to the shops to get chocolate eggs, there’s still time to order these online from a range of online stores.

Get cooking

Many people enjoy treating themselves to yummy food at Easter, so why not have a cooking afternoon with children to celebrate! Instead of purchasing Easter eggs, you could even make the Easter treats yourself. Try this two ingredient Nutella cake, cut into small slices and wrap up in foil and paper for an easy homemade Easter treat!

Easter – themed colouring

These great Easter-themed printables make for a simple but always enjoyable activity. Make it interesting by adding glitter, cotton wool and other textures.

Sing Easter songs

Music always brings a smile to children’s faces, and our special Bonkers Beat song ‘Easter Bunny’ is very popular! You’ll be able to check it out in our free Music Kinder at Home group perfect for parents and educators who are looking for meaningful resources and inspiration.

Egg-citing eggs experiment

To find this experiment watch one of our live streamed videos from Music Kinder at Home group. Click here to watch.

Also, if you are finding you need a bit more ‘you’ time as a parent at home, make sure you do join our free group and download the daily schedule at Music Kinder at Home. Resources are added everyday to give your children engaging and stimulating learning experiences delivered by experienced and professional early childhood educators.

While it’s certainly going to be a little different this year, Easter can still be full of eggcitement with these simple, fun ideas! 

Stay safe, have Happy Celebrations and share your Easter endeavours with us on Facebook!

It’s safe to say that this year has presented us with unprecedented times. It’s hard enough for many of us as adults to absorb and adapt to the fast-changing information we are receiving, let alone for the children in our lives.

Feeling isolated from the world is far from ideal, especially when you need to be at home all the time. But, we must stay safe and these temporary restrictions will help to save lives and ensure life can get back to normal as soon as possible.

It’s important to remember that we are all in this together! With that in mind, we wanted to share a few tips with you on how to stay sane when the world seems to be going crazy. If you have children at home, read on for essential advice for keeping children’s (and your own) health, wellbeing and development on track during this time.

Keep routines consistent

Children thrive on routine. There is a reason why childcare centres, kinders and schools have timetabled structure to the day, and it’s because children feel comforted by knowing what’s next. That’s not to say you can’t have spontaneity and surprises, but even those are enhanced by having a routine in the first place. We have a great Daily Routine poster that you can use here. This will also help parents who need to work from home to create time where they can be productive and make those phone calls, send those emails and so on.

Physical isolation, not social

Social isolation may be the name that’s been given to our efforts to stay home and away from one another, but really, we just need to maintain physical distance. We can still be social – and we should be! Pick up the phone, get on FaceTime or Skype and keep chatting to your loved ones. This is essential for our mental health and wellbeing, as well as children’s.

Get outside when possible

The benefits of physical movement cannot be overstated. Children love to move – they need to move! Incorporate movement into your schedule. Get outside for a morning walk, go on the trampoline, turn music on and dance – it’s all a way to make our bodies and minds feel happier and healthier. We run free daily yoga sessions on Bonkers Beat for Kids, so come and join in!

Show care and compassion

Tensions are running high and people are stressed, anxious and agitated. Again, we are all in this together and we are all experiencing many feelings, many that are unpleasant. It is so essential to show care and compassion during this time. Hug children more often, reassure them, let them ask questions. We are all trying to understand what is going on, and children know even less! Where possible, slow down and make time for love.

Our Facebook group Bonkers Beat for Kids is full of ideas and useful tools to help you carve time out of the day to get some work done, have a cup of tea or just take a break while children are engaged by learning experiences with professional early childhood educators. Anyone can join and it’s completely free! Click here to join us.

There are many mums, dads, carers and educators in the group who are contributing and sharing, giving us a beautiful community to overcome this COVID-19 crisis together.

With many parents feeling stressed and worried, and children feeling anxious, confused or out of sorts, the news of the 2019 novel Coronavirus — COVID-19 — has been a lot to take in. Firstly, our hearts go out to those who are facing challenges with their health, loved ones’ health or perhaps their finances and work at this time. What has been beautiful is to watch people caring for others and working together as we navigate these unusual circumstances.

There is still the possibility that schools, kindergartens and childcare services will need to close their doors, which means parents, particularly those who need to work or are working from home, are wondering how they will manage the juggle. We wanted to contribute to making life a little easier for families during this time, and so we have created something to do just that… introducing, ‘Bonkers Beat for Kids’!

If childcare providers and schools do close, or you’re worried about your children going to their place of education or care, we are here to help. How? ‘Bonkers Beat for Kids’ is an online education and care support channel for families with children aged up to approximately 8 years old. In this community you will find:

-Daily routines

-Positive thoughts

-Video recordings of songs children will love

-Yoga, meditation and mindfulness videos and tips

– Story times

-Interactive experiences

-Benefits of music

-Benefits of wellbeing

-Tips for parents

-So much more!

No parents want children to be bored or sit on devices all day. We know that children need some routine to their day to thrive, like they would have at childcare, kinder or school. We want them to keep learning and growing amidst the global health crisis. Parents need to be able to carve out time to work while children are engaged and happy, and we all need to discover ways to relax and enjoy life while we are in our homes during what could be stressful for many.

When life gets hard, we must get creative. Conveniently run through a Facebook group for you, ‘Bonkers Beat for Kids’ provides daily videos, images, tips and routine plans and suggestions to help parents keep children engaged with interactive content.

We hope that you can benefit from ‘Bonkers Beat for Kids’ and enjoy music and wellbeing in your family! The group is free and currently open for all families (and all educators) to join. Simply click here and become a part of this supportive online community!

Harmony Day is on Saturday 21 March, with Harmony Week taking place in the lead up from 16 March, and there is no better time to focus on the message that ‘everyone belongs’.

This is a wonderful time to enlist the support of your educators and families within your centre’s community. We are so lucky in Australia to have such a culturally diverse country, so let’s share in one another’s culture to celebrate harmony and belonging.

Sharing our cultures with one another

Your centre might like to try having a different person or group in each day of Harmony Week to share something special from their culture. It might be a gorgeous Indian traditional dress, a beautiful Russian song and dance or a tasty French treat.

Explore how special our differences make us and showcase the beauty in sharing and appreciating these differences with one another.

You might also spend time looking at all the things we have in common as well. For example, find a song that is sung in many languages and show how children in multiple countries and languages all sing the same song with the same message.

Singing and celebrating

We couldn’t leave out our own special cultural inclusivity anthem, Let’s Celebrate!

Add this song along with its moves (and sign language!) into your Harmony Day celebrations. Singing is the perfect approach to bring people together in a joyful way that is also incredibly engaging for children.

Create a Harmony Day event

We have chosen Harmony Day — Saturday 21 March, from 10AM until 12PM— as the day to host our Open Day! In keeping with the messaging of this special day, the Bonkers Beat Music Kinder Open Day will feature activities for all, including an African drumming workshop! If 49 Laura Street, Aspendale, Victoria is within your vicinity, feel free to register and join us on the day! It is of course a free event, but click here to register so we can keep track of how many people will be attending.

You might like to create an event for Harmony Day that includes your families and community to help to bring people together and ensure that we all feel we belong. Download your Harmony Day resources here, such as posters, certificates, art and craft activities and so much more. Or to receive promotional products to help you celebrate Harmony Day in 2020, register your Harmony Day event here.

However you choose to mark Harmony Day, congratulations on contributing to a world where everyone belongs!

While we are always encouraging more men to take up careers as childcare professionals, it’s no secret that early childhood education is a female-dominated industry. In fact, men only make up around 2 percent of the childcare workforce in Australia! Similarly, while dads are more involved than ever before, mums are still the primary caregivers in most families. With International Women’s Day coming up this Sunday 8 March, what better time to acknowledge the inspiring effort women put into children’s lives each and every day.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #EachforEqual. The idea behind this theme is to encourage every man, woman and child to choose equality and work together for a gender equal world. After all, a gender equal world is the best way forward for every man, woman and child!

While we’re acknowledging amazing women, we couldn’t possibly forget to mention early childhood educator and philosopher Maria Montessori. Dr Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952) was an inspirational educator who developed a unique and progressive method of educating children. In fact, many Montessori elements have been incorporated into Bonkers Beat’s educational programs.

The Montessori goal is to inspire children to have a lifelong love of learning that follows their natural learning direction. It enables children to become confident, independent and responsible learners. The focus is on self-realisation through independent activity, making use of their scientific powers of observation and reflection and focus on the educator as the keeper of the environment. A big thank you to Maria Montessori for her dedication to children throughout her lifetime!

This International Women’s Day let’s take a moment to thank the women we see around us for their hard work and inspiring commitment to the wellbeing of children! Looking further, let’s all choose equality every day and work together to create the best future for all, regardless of gender.

For most of us, old and young, starting something new or different can be uncomfortable at first. It can still be exciting and enjoyable, but it could also be a little bit scary initially. Starting kinder or school is a great example of a time that something new can take some getting used to. With the right approach to orientation and welcoming families into your educational setting, the process of starting something new can get off on the right foot.

To make the orientation process as stress free as possible, Bonkers Beat has developed many strategies through decades of experience. 

1.       Welcome the day together

Try to have a set time for the session to begin and encourage families to stick to it so you can all welcome the day together. Starting off the session on the same page means everyone can feel connected to the day they are about to share.

2.     Allow for varying levels of engagement

Not all children will want to join in and sing or dance or share with the group. It’s best to structure the activities with this in mind so everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the session without worrying about having to do things they may not be ready to do.

3.       Self-paced participation is fine

Following on from the previous tip, ensure children are able to participate in a way that they are most comfortable with. Expecting everyone to want to speak in front of the group or be in the spotlight can create stress for many children, especially in the first half of the year. Let children join in at their own pace.

4.     Create opportunities for connection and enjoyment

Sharing instruments around the circle, pairing up, singing each other’s names — there are so many ways to add opportunities for children to connect with one another in a stress-free way.

5.     Offer a variety of experiences to support many interests

Movement, using our voices, creating, drawing, dressing up, role play, outdoor time — every child learns in a different way and will engage in different things. Add variety to each day in a consistent way so everyone has the chance to have experiences that bring them joy, spark their curiosity and support their unique interests. Take note of who enjoys what and you will be able to connect with children on their level quickly and effectively.

6.     Make it fun

Play-based learning is the key to effective early childhood education. It needs to have an element of fun! Don’t be afraid to get a bit silly, think outside the box and create meaningful experiences that make children smile!

7.       Keep it consistent

At Bonkers Beat, all new children attend three morning sessions and each day consistently starts with circle time and music-making. Children arrive and within a week, they know what to expect because it is the same approach every time. Children participate in singing and dancing, engaging in musical experiences, or other children observe until they are ready to engage in their own way. Through this session we create a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience that enables children to connect with educators and the other children in the room.

The music session is followed by playtime and morning tea. Sessions are short but provide many opportunities for new children to make valued connections, find experiences to support their individual interests, curiosity and, most importantly, have fun!

Starting off the year the right way

Now is the best time to discover how easy music training can support your centre and make orientation time for new children and new families stress-free.

Check out your options for the Bonkers Beat Music Training HERE.

If you are in Victoria, do not miss the opportunity to select Bonkers Beat Music Training Online from the School Readiness Funding Menu.

P.S. Don’t forget to have a taste and access our music training for FREE!

Start Your Free Trial Today!

Creating an early childhood service that is inclusive is of the utmost importance. There are many ways you can be inclusive in centres, and in life. In a recent article we explored the incredible power that can be found in incorporating sign language in childcare centres.

Parenta, an early childhood education organisation based in the UK, asked us to contribute to their magazine and the full article ‘The power of signing and singing’ is out now. Read it here.

In our Parenta article we talk about sign language and its many benefits, including:

•         Powerful communication
•         Brain growth through learning
•         Body language awareness
•         Inclusive learning environment
•         Rapid language development
•         A skill for life

Music has long been thought of as a universal language and adding sign language to further express what we sing only strengthens it further. Signing and singing goes beyond inclusivity, adding another powerful dimension to the way we communicate.

It’s also worth noting that sign language is not just for centres where children or families are hearing impaired. As touched on above, the benefits of using sign language extend to young children and even babies.

We discovered further support for the value of sign language in early childhood when we hosted our Wellness Summit in Melbourne last month. A fantastic and inspiring way to commence the year. One of our presenters was Liz Grover, a wellness expert from Aurora School For Young Deaf and Deafblind Children. Her insights and knowledge in this area were invaluable. She reminded us that using visuals as part of the way we communicate with children is such a crucial tool for effective and inclusive learning and communication.

It is quite clear that sign language can enrich both education and lives, and combined with singing we can create some truly special educational experiences and memories.

Do you use signing at your centre? If not, maybe it’s time to explore this. Start signing, use keywords, posters and see the power of the Auslan language. To download free posters click here.

If you’d like to read the full article ‘The power of signing and singing’, head here.

Welcome to the 20th year of the 3rd millennium, the 20th year of the 21st century, and the 1st year of the 2020s decade!

It is going to be a BIG year and we have some BIG news to announce!

In 2020 we’ll see some incredible technological innovations, including: first complete synthetic human brain, moon mining, chips implanted in our brains, self-driving cars, high-speed rail linking London to Beijing and so much more.

2020 is going to be even more awesome because we are just about to release a new format of the Bonkers Beat Music Training!

Over the years we’ve enhanced Bonkers Beat programs, introduced more content and technological platforms for better communication. We have also hosted Wellness Summits, engaged the best early childhood and wellness experts in Australia — and that was just the beginning!

We have conducted and analysed a number of surveys, group discussions and individual conversations to find out what educators’, families’, Directors and owners needs are to better support you! And in 2020, we’re putting our knowledge into action.

A fresh approach in 2020

To celebrate the significant year 2020, we are just about to release new ‘Music Plus’ and ‘Ultimate Music & Wellbeing’ training.

From February 2020, most Bonkers Beat educational resources including music CDs and books will become available for educators and families online!

This means the cost of the annual program membership will be drastically reduced and it will include access to resources for families online, further enhancing children’s early childhood education.

 $200 off for the first 20!

In keeping with the ‘20’ theme, the first 20 services who will send us an enquiry about the new format, will receive $200 off the new price PLUS Extra Bonuses!

Send us an email TODAY to info@bonkersbeat.com to become a lucky recipient of this 02/ 2020 Special Offer.

Kickstart 2020 with a great vision and make your centre stand out!

Take action now and start the 20th year of the 3rd millennium, the 20th year of the 21st century, and the 1st year of the 2020s decade right!